Chapter 119: Twisted

Chapter 119: Twisted As soon as Jamal shut the door behind him, Abigail focused on Ryan, who was staring at her with a smile. [You sent for me.] Abigail signed, and Ryan grinned, amused by the fact that she could speak now, yet she continued to sign. "Yes, I did. I was in your bedroom last night," Ryan said, startling Abigail who hadn’t expected him to say that so directly. Ryan smiled, "Why do you look so surprised? Is it out of the ordinary for a father to visit his daughter’s bedroom? I often check on Josh at night, so I decided to check on you too," he said easily. Abigail forced a smile, [I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to check on your grownup daughter, Dad.] Ryan smiled, "Why not?" Abigail shrugged, [I’m an adult now. I’m no longer a kid.] "I see. Why are you still standing? Sit down," he said, gesturing to the seat Jamal had vacated. Abigail did as she was told, wondering what he was playing at. Did he bring up the subject so he could ask her about the text she had received? "I’ve been curious about something for a while now," Ryan said as he leaned back in his seat without taking his gaze away from her. [What is that?] Abigail asked with an innocent smile. "Josh’s biological father," Ryan said, and Abigail’s heart skipped a beat and she blinked in surprise. Why was he suddenly bringing that up? Did he notice any similarities between Josh and Jamal? Josh wasn’t exactly looking like Jamal especially now that Jamal’s hair was no longer blonde, so what could he have seen? Abigail swallowed nervously as she signed, [What about him?] "You never told me who he was. Who is he? When last did you see or hear from him?" Ryan asked curiously, "It’s been five years now. I expect you to be able to tell me what I need to know." [I don’t know him. I don’t know anything about him. He was a stranger.] "You expect me to believe that you had sex with a stranger?" Ryan asked, narrowing his eyes. [Who else could I have had sex with when Genevieve was focused on sleeping with any guy who paid me the least attention?] she asked, unable to stop herself. "So, you had sex with a stranger?" Ryan asked, intrigued at the thought. [Don’t you think it’s a bit awkward to be having this discussion with my father?] she asked with a grimace. Ryan laughed out loud. For some twisted reason, he was finding her even more amusing and interesting now. Abigail was increasingly beginning to intrigue him. He had started to become bored over the years in her absence, but now that she was back, he felt alive again. Her smartness kept him on edge. It was like playing a game of chess with her. Life was interesting again. "I guess you’re saying you haven’t heard from him and you don’t know where he is," Ryan said, and Abigail nodded. [That night was the first and last time I met him. It was a fling. I was drunk.] "I see. Well, I hope there won’t be any surprises in the future. I’m asking because Josh is legally my son now, and I plan to handover the company to him when he grows older," Ryan said, watching Abigail closely. [Josh?] Abigail asked, feigning surprise even though she had heard it from Jamal before but she had not totally believed that Ryan meant it. "Yeah. I want him to have everything. And I want you to guide him," Ryan said, watching her closely. [Why? What about Genevieve?] Abigail signed, her confusion evident in her eyes. "Surely you do not expect me to hand over all I’ve worked for to my step daughter, do you? You and Josh are my real kids. You should have all I own," he said, and Abigail looked at him, unable to understand what he was playing at. It did not make sense to her that he would ignore Genevieve who was like his partner in crime and give everything back to her and Josh after all he did to get it. What was he planning? Abigail mused as she watched him with a blank expression. At the same time, Ryan tried not to smirk as he watched Abigail. He could literally see the wheels turning in her head as she tried to figure him out. This was going to be so interesting, Ryan thought, feeling very excited at the prospect of playing this game with her. He wanted to see how she would go about everything. He wasn’t in a hurry to know what she knew or what she was planning. It was going to be fun to unravel it all slowly. Discovering too soon would take the whole fun out of it. He didn’t want that. Seeing how he was watching her, Abigail signed,[What about Genevieve? Is she aware? Is she okay with your decision?] "Of course she is. Why do you think she is trying to be good to you now?" Ryan asked with a smirk. Abigail’s eyes narrowed. Was that it? Was that the reason Genevieve was acting that way? How did Ryan know Genevieve was trying to be good to her? Was this some sort of plan between them? "Your eyes are too expressive, Abi. You should make it difficult for me to guess what you’re thinking," Ryan teased with a chuckle. Abigail resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was amused that he thought he was reading her right now, when she was deliberately letting him read her. [About Josh’s school. I was hoping we could talk about that.] she asked, changing the subject. "Why do you want him to go to school like other regular kids and act like a kid?" Ryan asked with a raised brow. [Because he’s a kid and kids should be allowed to be kids. He should mingle with other kids and have friends around his age.] "What does he need friends for? I have great plans for Josh, Abi," before he could finish, Abigail started signing again. [I’m his mother. Don’t I get a say in what happens to my son?] "Sure, you do. If that’s what you want, then we can do it. But that would also mean he would be more busy now because he will continue receiving his lessons at home," Ryan said, and Abigail frowned. [He is only a kid. He should be allowed to watch cartoons, play at the park with friends his age and be well rounded.] "And he will be. I can leave those other parts to you, while I handle the more serious part of preparing him to take over from me. We can work together to make him well-rounded," Ryan said with an easy smile that made Abigail feel like he was mocking her or toying with her. Abigail sighed deeply. [Alright. Thank you. I’ll find him a suitable school and we can drop him off at school on our way to the office and you can get someone to pick him up when he closes. On weekends I can take him to the park and stuff.] Ryan nodded, "He can have two hours for that on weekends. Only two hours. Fair, isn’t it?" Abigail considered it. Two hours was good enough. She nodded. [Fair enough.] Ryan watched her, waiting and wondering if she was going to raise the subject of Pete’s employment. He knew how smart she was, and he didn’t expect her to raise it now. Not when she wasn’t sure yet if Jamal had been in his office to report her or to do something else. "So, where did you go with Genevieve? What did you both do?" He asked curiously. [She took me to the company. She wanted me to see our office before Monday.] "Did she tell you she doesn’t have a secretary and the reason why?" He asked, wanting to see if he could bait her into talking about employing Pete. Abigail nodded. [She told me.] "Isn’t it funny that I wanted you to have a secretary you can communicate with, but we ended up having a driver you can communicate with? I wonder how much longer it would take to get a secretary," Ryan said, and watched as Abigail’s eyes twitched but she said nothing. She knew this was a trap. It would be stupid to suggest that he employ Jamal now. If she did, it would make him wonder why she wasn’t suspicious of Pete’s presence in his office, and then he would wonder why she trusted Pete so much. She couldn’t let him believe she had such trust in Pete. She needed to show she had doubts too especially after expressing her doubt last night when he caught them with Josh. This was a game, and she was playing to win. [Hopefully we will find someone good soon.] Abigail signed, and Ryan’s lips twitched. She continued to impress him. "When last did you have those nightmares, Abi? Do you remember anything now?" He asked, watching her closely. Abigail frowned but shook her head. [No. The therapy didn’t work. And I don’t think I want to remember anymore. I want to look forward.] Ryan nodded. "Do you have friends? Or a boyfriend?" [Between you and Genevieve could I have had any? Did you give me the time to have any of that with all the guards you kept sending to keep an eye on me in school?] she asked with a scowl, not bothering to hide her displeasure. Ryan laughed. "My apologies. You’re precious to me and I just wanted to protect you. Last night when I came to check on you, you received a message. I was wondering who could be texting you at that hour." Abigail frowned as though trying to recall who it was, then she rolled her eyes dramatically, [Just some silly guy online. He sometimes sends me annoying memes and stuff. I deleted the chat and blocked him. He sent something annoying.] she signed, schooling her expression to look annoyed at the mere thought of the message. Satisfied with her response and judging by her expressive eyes, Ryan nodded, "I see. I just wanted to know. If you have friends or a boyfriend you should invite them home so I meet them," he said, and Abigail shook her head. [I’m not having any boyfriend until Genevieve gets married and leaves the house.] Ryan laughed. "I see you still don’t trust her. It’s alright. You can leave now," he said, and Abigail rose, relieved that she had gotten through the conversation with him. As she left the office, Ryan watched her, wondering just what she was up to, yet not eager to dig into it. Pete was another puzzle he wanted to solve but wasn’t eager to solve as well. There was just something about Pete that wasn’t average. What was the real deal with Pete? What did he really want?